Gluten Free King Cake Recipe
Gluten Free King Cake is a tradition that shouldn't be missed. This yeasty, cinnamon-y, sweet roll is nearly as pretty as it is delicious!
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Servings: 12
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water (110 F)
- 1 Tbs. granulated cane sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) highly active, dry yeast (e.g. Fleishmann's® or Red Star® Gluten-Free Yeast)
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 3 Tbs. granulated cane sugar
- 1/4 cup warm milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature) or egg substitute like flaxseed meal and water (see my article on vegan egg replacers)
- 3 (405) cups (grams) gfJules® All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour OR 330 grams gfJules Nada Flour*
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt (1/4 tsp. salt if using salted butter or vegan butter)
- 2 Tbs. milk (dairy or non-dairy) for brushing on pastry before baking
Filling Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 (34) cup (grams) gfJules® All Purpose Gluten Free Flour OR 28 grams gfJules Nada Flour*
- 1 apple peeled and chopped (optional)
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 4 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
Icing Ingredients:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1-2 Tbs. milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1/4 tsp. pure almond extract (optional)
- colored sugar (purple, gold and green)
Instructions
Gluten Free King Cake Filling
- Prepare the filling by tossing the chopped apples together with the gfJules® All Purpose Flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, melt the 4 tablespoons butter, and set both bowls aside.
Gluten Free King Cake Dough
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and yeast; stir and set aside to proof. If the mixture is not bubbly and doubled in volume after 5-10 minutes, toss out and start again with fresh yeast.
- In a large mixing bowl, blend the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the warm milk and eggs and beat until well-integrated. Add only 2 cups of gfJules®All Purpose Flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg and mix well.
- Stir in the proofed yeast-sugar-water mixture, then slowly add the remaining 1 cup gfJules® All Purpose Flour. Beat another 1-2 minutes, until the dough is clumping together and is not too sticky. The dough should not be dry. If the dough is dry, read this article on measuring flour properly, as you may have added too much flour and you will need to add more milk to compensate at this point (if it is very dry, add 1 mixed egg or start with 1 egg white to the dough instead of adding milk).
Preparing the Gluten Free King Cake
- Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a silicone pastry mat or onto a clean counter dusted lightly with gfJules® All Purpose Flour (be sure to have enough counter space, at least 30 inches wide).
- Roll the dough out to an elongated rectangle 24-30 inches long by 6-8 inches wide. Brush on the melted butter, coating the entire rectangle.
- Sprinkle the filling mixture on top of the melted butter, spreading to the ends of the rectangle, but leaving 1/2-1 inch without toppings on each of the long sides of the rectangle.
- Using a bench scraper or a spatula, gently peel up one of the long sides of the rectangle and begin rolling it as you would a jelly roll. Once the entire pastry is rolled upon itself until no pastry remains unrolled, a 24-30 inch long roll will remain. Gently pull the two ends of the roll together to form a circle or oval. (see photos above recipe card)
- Dabbing the ends of the pastry with water, join the ends together to close the circle. Gently transfer the ring to the parchment-lined baking sheet, or transfer the ring on the silicone baking mat to the baking sheet.
- Brush the milk on top of the exposed pastry, then using a large sharp knife, make a cut in the top of the pastry every 2 inches to expose one layer of the roll.
- Spray a sheet of parchment with cooking oil, then cover the cake and let rise in a warm spot for 20-30 minutes like an an oven heated to 200º F then turned off.
- Preheat oven to 350º F (static) or 325º F (convection).
- Remove the paper from the cake and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- While cooling, mix icing ingredients and drizzle over the cake. Sprinkle colored sugar on top of wet icing, alternating colors (purple; green; yellow colored sugar) between each cut in the top of the cake.
- Insert a pecan, M&M or plastic baby into the underside of the cake to hide it.
Video
** Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.